Re: [INDOLOGY] Aṅgula

[Nagaraj Paturi]

The Telugu word for 'inch' is a Sanskrit borrowing angulam.

https://www.themysteriousindia.net/ancient-indian-units-of-length-measurement/

has

The Indus Inch

The Indus civilisation unit of length, widely known as *Indus Inch *was
1.32 Inches which is exactly equal to 2 *Angulas* of 16.764mm each.

This is from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315674325_Length_and_area_measurement_system_in_India_through_the_ages

https://www.jstor.org/stable/44140603?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
LAND MEASUREMENT IN ANCIENT INDIA (c. 324 B. C.-A. D. 326) (Summary) N. N.
Kher






On Thu, Jan 14, 2021 at 9:55 PM James Hartzell via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Hi Jacob
>
> From the Sanskrit text translation work I've done on measurements, the
> aṅgula or finger-width measurement is specific to the individual. My finger
> widths differ from yours or my wife's, etc., but when I measure distances
> on my body using my finger widths, those will match the same distances on
> my wife's body using her finger widths. I've tested this quite a few times
> and was a bit astonished to find it consistently true. Others may differ
> (I'm very interested to hear if that's so), but the idea as I understand it
> is that an aṅgula is personal measurement, not a standardized measurement
> like a metre/meter, cm, mm, inch, etc. In this sense there is no
> uncertainty involved, just inter-individual variation.
>
> No doubt there's more to this topic, but this is my bit I can comment on.
>
> Cheers
> James
>
> On Thu, Jan 14, 2021 at 5:03 PM Jacob Schmidt-Madsen via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
>> Dear list,
>>
>> Is there any consensus on what an aṅgula corresponds to in the metric
>> system? Or should we not consider it an absolute standard, but rather
>> take it literally as the breadth of a finger (with all the uncertainties
>> that follow)? There are a lot of suggestions floating around on the
>> internet, but I would be interested in any scholarly references.
>>
>> Best,
>> Jacob
>>
>> Jacob Schmidt-Madsen
>> Postdoctoral Researcher in Indology
>> Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies
>> University of Copenhagen
>> Denmark
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> INDOLOGY mailing list
>> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
>> indology-owner at list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing
>> committee)
>> http://listinfo.indology.info (where you can change your list options or
>> unsubscribe)
>>
>
>
> --
> James Hartzell, PhD (2x)
> Donostia-San Sebatián, Spain
> Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), The University of Trento, Italy
> Center for Buddhist Studies, Columbia University, USA
>
> _______________________________________________
> INDOLOGY mailing list
> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
> indology-owner at list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing
> committee)
> http://listinfo.indology.info (where you can change your list options or
> unsubscribe)
>


-- 
Nagaraj Paturi

Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.


Director,  Inter-Gurukula-University Centre , Indic Academy
BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
BoS, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala
BoS Veda Vijnana Gurukula, Bengaluru.
Member, Advisory Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam, Bengaluru
Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies,
FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://list.indology.info/pipermail/indology/attachments/20210114/dd88abb7/attachment.htm>